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Sports betting has never been more popular thanks to the plethora of gambling websites and apps that have sprung up over the past decade.
Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2018 that opened the floodgates for sports gambling, over 30 states have made the practice legal with more expected to do so in the near future.
According to Sportico, the NCAA report claims 67% of on-campus college students are betting on sports.
The study, conducted by Opinion Diagnostics and commissioned by new NCAA president Charlie Baker, also states 63% of the college-age students say they see advertising for sportsbooks. That rate is higher than it is for the general population.
“We needed a new baseline so we can better understand what student-athletes are experiencing on their campuses and among their peers so we can best help them deal with the potentially disruptive dynamic of legal sports betting,” Baker said in a statement.
“Sports betting has increased interest in sports of all kinds, including college sports, which is great for our fans, but the NCAA and everyone from coaches to athletics department staff and college presidents must better understand what impact sports betting may have on student-athletes.”
While that 67% may seem high, the NCAA includes fantasy sports in its definition of sports betting.
The survey polled 3,527 people in the U.S. aged 18-22, and found that 58% of respondents have placed a bet of some sort on sports. While this survey did not specifically target college athletes, an NCAA study from 2016 found that 24% of male athletes and 5% of female athletes were wagering on sports, a violation of NCAA rules.
ESPN reports 58% of those polled say they have participated in at least one sports betting activity. 41% of the students who bet having wagered on their school’s team, and 35% have used a student bookmaker.
The survey found that $10-$20 was the most common amount risked per bet, with 79% of respondents risking $1-$50 per wager. Black or African American respondents were an outlier, with 10% typically betting more than $100 compared to 5% for the general population.
The NFL is the most popular sport for college students to wager on, followed by professional basketball, college football and college basketball.